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Searching for Pluto’s Neighbors; the Large Inclination Distant Objects (LiDO) survey

Presentation #414.02 in the session Centaurs and KBOs: Observational Surveys (iPosters).

Published onOct 20, 2022
Searching for Pluto’s Neighbors; the Large Inclination Distant Objects (LiDO) survey

The Kozai Plutinos orbit beyond Neptune, at the inner edge of the Kuiper belt. They occupy a resonance within a resonance, which has the critical effect that these objects are brightest when they are furthest from the ecliptic. This makes Kozai Plutinos difficult to discover in traditional surveys, which focus on the ecliptic where the density of most other types of TNOs is highest. However, their orbital and surface characteristics provide valuable constraints on the history of the Solar System and the migration of the giant planets, especially Neptune. We have conducted a TNO discovery survey, in a similar manner to earlier TNO discovery surveys using CFHT’s MegaCam. Our Large Inclination Distant Objects (LiDO) survey targeted 40 sq.deg. centred on 15 degrees off the ecliptic plane, where the density of Kozai Plutinos is predicted to be highest. The LiDO survey has discovered about 140 TNOs, of which 22 are likely to be Plutinos. Ongoing tracking observations will reduce the orbit uncertainty until we are able to determine the resonant behavior of each object, including whether they experience Kozai resonance. In this poster we will present a progress report and preliminary findings of the LiDO survey.

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